| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 11 hr |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 10 hr |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 whole pork shoulder
- 1 gallon chicken broth
- 3 cups homemade or commercially prepared dry barbecue spice rub, ground to a powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup homemade or commercially prepared barbecue sauce plus additional for glazing
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound butter, melted
- 1 cup olive oil
- About 1 gallon apple juice
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup for glaze, optional
Instructions
- Light a fire in the smoker or grill. Allow the fire to burn for about 2 hours until the temperature in the cooker is 225 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, remove the pork shoulder from the refrigerator and it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a large pot. Add 2 cups of the rub, then add the sugar, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer until dissolved. Using a handheld mixer or whisk, gradually incorporate the melted butter and olive oil. Mix until the broth and fat emulsify then set the marinade aside to cool.
- Rub the pork shoulder all over with the remaining cup of dry rub then set the meat aside for 20 minutes. Measure the marinade, and then add enough apple juice to achieve a 3 to 1 marinade-to-juice ratio. Inject the marinade and juice mixture into the pork repeatedly until the meat is saturated and can absorb no more.
- Cook the pork shoulder at 225 degrees F in the grill or smoker (adding more coal or wood as necessary to maintain the temperature). After about 4 hours the pork should have turned a rich red-brown. Remove the meat from the cooker, wrap it in aluminum foil, and then return it, fat side down, to the grill or smoker. At this point begin checking the temperature of the meat with a thermometer every hour until it reaches an internal temperature of between 180 and 190 degrees F. at the center. (This should take about 4 more hours; the bones will pull clean while the meat stays firm.)
- Glaze the shoulder with barbecue sauce, mixed with a little corn syrup for extra shine if you like. Using a large fork, pull the meat from the bones and serve.
Reviews
I recently moved from the Atlanta to the Southwest and have been missing Smokey Bones. I love their pulled pork so I was extremely excited to find this recipe online. But, the experience left much to be desired. First, if you choose to cook this be aware that you DO NOT need the huge quantity of marinade that it calls for. I could have easily had enough with just 3 cans of chicken stock, 8oz of apple juice, 1 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil, etc, etc. Also, the recipe suggests that the total cooking time should be about 8 hours but it took me well over 9. And, that was with cooking it in the oven so the temperature was very controlled (I don’t have a smoker). After all this the flavor of the pork when it was finally done left much to be desired. It didn’t taste bad at all but it was nowhere near as good as what you get at Smokey Bones restaurants. The one good thing I can say about the recipe is that the leftovers were very good in the Smokey Bones Brunswick stew I mad a couple days later. See this link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/food/orl-thot1406jun14,0,6775535.column?coll=orl-lifestyle-promo-food
for that recipe…delicious!
for that recipe…delicious!
The pork shoulder I smoked, based on this recipe came out GREAT. Although, the recipe needs modifications. After I was done, I had over a gallon of fluid that I did not use. I froze it for the next one. The pork shoulder was 8.5 lbs. I feel, cuting this recipe in half would still be fine.
This is what I did:
The night before I was going to smoke, I followed the directions of boiling the broth and adding the ingredients. I rubbed the shoulder with the remaining dry rub. I injected the meat as much as it would hold. The meat looked like it doubled in size. Marinade was starting to seep from all the puncture spots. It then went into the refrigerator until I was ready for it the next morning. I started the smoker at 7 am. The shoulder went on around 8 am and was not done till 10:30 pm. I used Apple wood for the smoking, and a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Still following the directions, I pulled the bones out. I pulled all the meat apart and placed in 2 tuperware containers, adding some bar b q sauce (Jack Daniels’ brand) as I went. I tasted the meat as I was pulling it apart. I was not impressed with the flavor at all. It sat in the refrigerator for almost 24 hours before I tried it again. THE FLAVOR WAS AMAZING. I was having pulled pork for breakfest, I loved it so much. I took the remaining pulled pork to a family gathering, and everyone loved it and requested I do 6 more shoulders for my family.
This is what I did:
The night before I was going to smoke, I followed the directions of boiling the broth and adding the ingredients. I rubbed the shoulder with the remaining dry rub. I injected the meat as much as it would hold. The meat looked like it doubled in size. Marinade was starting to seep from all the puncture spots. It then went into the refrigerator until I was ready for it the next morning. I started the smoker at 7 am. The shoulder went on around 8 am and was not done till 10:30 pm. I used Apple wood for the smoking, and a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Still following the directions, I pulled the bones out. I pulled all the meat apart and placed in 2 tuperware containers, adding some bar b q sauce (Jack Daniels’ brand) as I went. I tasted the meat as I was pulling it apart. I was not impressed with the flavor at all. It sat in the refrigerator for almost 24 hours before I tried it again. THE FLAVOR WAS AMAZING. I was having pulled pork for breakfest, I loved it so much. I took the remaining pulled pork to a family gathering, and everyone loved it and requested I do 6 more shoulders for my family.
Love this